July 26, 2014

Dear Sir,

In this year of our Lord 2014 the time has come to coin a new phrase: “an entire Island perishes when people of goodwill do nothing”.

Having observed, with great sadness, the cries against “PRC’s”, the demands for reparation on Tucker’s Town land, the marches on Government House and the Cabinet Office, the vapid, incendiary phrases that we are being sent back to the plantation and into slavery; to say nothing of the “ultimatum” being served on the elected Government, I say it is time for reasonable Bermudians to step back, pause and reflect on what all this noise is doing to the future of our Island.

Let’s be clear, no elected Government should acquiesce to ultimatums. Those tactics belong in the schoolyard where young boys engage in ‘I got my last’ playground warfare. Let’s again be clear: the “PRC’s” of today are yesterday’s West Indian and Portuguese people (your ancestors and mine) who came here for a better life and made a meaningful contribution to Bermuda.

They struggled against discrimination to educate their children, build homes for themselves and respect the civil authority of the day.

Were it not for these stalwarts we would not be enjoying the lifestyle we so frequently brag about and most certainly would not be free to protest in the manner that now, unfortunately, seems to be the new norm. We cannot accept that two thousand, three thousand, or even four thousand people should speak and act in such negative ways and as such determine the fate of more than 60 thousand residents.

As Bermudians we tend to luxuriate in the atmosphere of trivia. We exult over Bermuda Day and the Cup Match when we eat, drink and be merry and play Crown and Anchor, then, when sated; deem these occasions to be vivid examples of our togetherness. We do not engage in meaningful dialogue on how we as a people should come together and solve the problems of this 22- square-mile space that would be lost in the great parklands of England and the United States.

When the Theatre Boycott successfully erased all vestiges of official segregation in Bermuda it was achieved by committed people taking a stand. They did not demand the Governor’s recall.

They did not insult him, the elected Government, or the Speaker of the House, neither did they threaten a “long, hot summer” if they did not get their way. And this was during a period when such threats would have been wholly justified.

Today, we appear to be caught up in the throes of noisy confrontation. There is no respect on the part of adults whose role it is to set standards of respect for our young.

There appears to be selective amnesia by politicians who stand up and rile people to act against the very actions they omitted to address while they held the reins of government. With all due respect to the people who are enticed to engage in such folly, the only beneficiaries of marches appear to be the people who sell bottled water and shoes.

The most productive march in living memory was the Martin Luther King ‘I Have a Dream’ march on Washington, which gained the support of those who believed in his dream for America and the world. What we need to do in Bermuda, in my humble opinion is produce plans of action and stated goals and objectives in order to garner public understanding and support.

We cannot do this successfully by marching and shouting insults and slogans that belong to the past. Those who wish not to hear simply close their windows and turn on the air conditioners

Let’s face it; this Island is encumbered with more problems than it has ever experienced: the issues of a broken education system, a damaged economy, high crime, unemployment, homelessness — the list goes on.

Is this the time to be confrontational, or is this the time to sit down and apply reason and logic to address these issues?

I suspect many wise heads would agree that this rancour is clouding the landscape. One has to wonder what is the real motive behind this outpouring of rage. Do we really want solutions? If the answer is yes, then we need to take a step back and as the young people say ‘take a chill pill’.

At the risk of being treated as a well-meaning alarmist or called another name let me state that I have been involved in human rights issues in the United States for decades and am not without experience in these matters. As a former Chairman of the Human Rights Commission I have heard sundry cries of racism, nepotism, sexism, classism and, yes, shadism. Many people still have a justifiable reason to be upset about their lot in life.

God knows, I have my own cross to bear in this regard. But we must not resort to throwing out the baby with the bath water.

This is not a perfect society and we all know it, but right-thinking people know that Governments have the responsibility to govern, whether we agree with them or not. If we agree we support.

If we don’t we use the ballot box to throw them out. It is as simple as that. If you don’t believe this ask the United Bermuda Party. Or, better yet, ask the Progressive Labour Party! And if the One Bermuda Alliance fails the people they too will suffer the same fate. Frankly, I think 18 months is a bit too short a time to make such a determination, especially if one compares it to 14 years!

Friends, in my profession I baptise babies who enter this world, entitled to a bright future. I marry couples with visions of that future and I bury people for whom the future is no more. Are we going to now bury an entire Bermuda for the sake of a few with perceived well-meaning, albeit misguided ambitions?

Are we going to deprive these babies and young couples of a deserving future? I too, say enough is enough, but for a different reason. It is time to quell the noise and I call upon all Bermudians to apply reason, lest we all perish because people of goodwill did nothing.

Respectfully,

Canon James W Francis

Christ Anglican Church